Designer Interface

The central hub for creating PDF layouts, managing page settings, and data binding.

The Template Designer is the core workspace for building your PDF templates. It provides a visual canvas for laying out elements, a robust set of configuration tabs for controlling data and logic, and tools for previewing your work.

Canvas

The Canvas is your main workspace representing the page you are designing.

Auto-Scaling Behavior

The Canvas automatically scales to fit your window size.

Aspect Ratio: The visual representation maintains the correct aspect ratio of your page settings (e.g., A4).
Visual Scaling: While the canvas may appear smaller or larger depending on your screen size, all elements (text size, images, etc.) scale proportionally.
Accuracy: The on-screen preview is visually accurate in terms of layout and proportion, even if not 1:1 in physical size.

Selection & Navigation

Select Element: Clicking an element on the canvas selects it and automatically switches the right-hand panel to the Style Tab.
Deselect: Clicking an empty area of the Canvas deselects the current element and switches the panel back to the Elements Tab (or the previously active general tab).

Wireframe Mode

You can toggle between Preview Mode (standard view) and Wireframe Mode using the dropdown in the top toolbar.

When to use Wireframe Mode

Performance: If you have many heavy elements (high-resolution images, complex tables), switching to Wireframe Mode significantly improves responsiveness.
Layout Verification: It replaces all elements with lightweight placeholder boxes, making it easier to see exact boundaries and alignment without visual distractions.
Finding "Lost" Elements: If a Text element is empty or hidden behind another layer, it might be invisible in Preview Mode. Wireframe Mode reveals all elements as boxes, helping you locate and select them.

Tip: Finding Empty Objects

If you cannot find a text box because it has no content, switch to Wireframe Mode. The placeholder box will make it immediately visible and selectable.

Preview PDF

Clicking the Preview PDF button in the top toolbar generates a temporary PDF based on your current design.

How it works

The engine saves your current template state.
It generates a genuine PDF file using the production PDF engine.
It opens the file in your system's default PDF viewer.

Production Fidelity

Since the preview uses the same engine as the actual generation process, reproducibility is very high. However, slight differences in font rendering or layout might occur compared to the final output depending on your viewer. Always perform a real test generation before finalizing a critical template.

Limitations

Single Variables: The preview attempts to use the first row of your CSV/Excel data if mapped. If not, it uses placeholder values (e.g., [InvoiceNo]).
Group Tables: The preview cannot iterate over real transaction lists. It uses dummy data or a single row for Group Tables. You will not see a full multi-page list in the Preview PDF.

Configuration Tabs

The right-hand panel of the Designer contains five key tabs that control every aspect of your template:

Tab	Description
Page Tab	Configure global settings like page size (A4/B5), orientation, and margins.
Data Tab	Connect to CSV/Excel data sources, define calculated fields, and map variables.
Elements Tab	Add new objects (Text, Images, Tables) to the canvas and manage the layer order.
Style Tab	Customize the appearance (Position, Font, Border) of the currently selected element.
Email Tab	Configure email subjects, body text, and attachments using dynamic variables.